Ozone is actually 3 molecules of Oxygen.  That sounds fairly benign when you first hear it, because we all want to breathe oxygen.  But everything in moderation, right?  You see, one of the oxygen molecules is always trying to escape the ozone.  That is one way of saying it is very reactive.  When that gets into our very sensitive lung tissues, it starts damaging the cells.  So , no. Ozone is not something we should breathe, even though it is mad up of oxygen.

Many air cleaners today produce ozone, either because it smells good, and people like that “fresh air” smell, or because it is a byproduct of an ionizing air cleaner.  It is usually the second reason.  Many air cleaner manufacturers think that they can improve the air quality of your home  by ionizing the air.  This essentially “charges” some of the particles in the air negatively, and then those particles stick to most any surface.  Some fall to the ground while others will stick to walls, ceilings, really anything that is not negatively charged.  This method does work in removing those particles from the air, but the side effect can be ozone generation.

The Blueair 501 series air purifier is much better than most at ionizing without all the ozone generation.  This is due to the very high tech approach used to manufacturer the Blueair systems.  They enclose the ionization chamber with steel which causes any generated ozone to collide with the steel and loose that extra oxygen molecule we mentioned earlier.  This actually turns ozone into oxygen.

Be sure to do your research on ozone and ionizing air purifiers before you run out and purchase one.  They are not all equal.  BlueAir air purifiers are significantly different and for all the right reasons.

First of all, they are suppose to work by generating negative ions.  These negative charged particles attract dust, pollen , pet dander, etc and cause the pollution to fall out of the air.  This in theory would make the air cleaner.  But is this actually good for you?

Consumer Reports said back in 2005 that the models they tested actually did a poor job at cleaning the air and they produced ozone which is not good for you. I know you are thinking that we need ozone, so producing would be helpful.  Actually , ozone in our atmosphere is one thing, having it in your house and breathing it, is something totally different.  No we don’t want to breathe ozone.  According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s standards for outdoor ozone concentration exposure, 80 parts per billion over eight hours is the maximum anyone should breathe.  The magazine tested quite a few of the popular models of ionizing air purifiers and they found that 2 of them put out about 300 parts per billion of ozone.  Not something you want in your house.  In people with normal lungs, 100 parts per billion can cause damage to the airways.  Some studies show that it can actually cause asthma like symptoms in otherwise healthy people.

The bottom line on ionizing air filters is that most data says they don’t work.  They don’t remove the dirt, like say a High Efficiency Particulate Air  (HEPA) can.  They do give the illusion of filtering, and may cause some of the pollution to fall to the ground, but at the expense of producing ozone.

There is no government agency empowered to oversee  ionizing air cleaners. If the item is not making a medical claim, it doesn’t come under the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) jurisdiction.  The unfortunate thing about all this is that some studies show that 80% of all people buying air purifiers are people who have someone in the home with asthma or allergies.  Ionizing air treatment systems account for about 25% of all the units purchased.

It really comes down to consumers doing there research on these units to see which one is really the best for them.  I hope this article has helped you in your research on air purifiers for your home.